FDA approves new nonopioid pain medication

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Thursday approved a new painkiller to manage acute, post-surgical pain.

Journavx, or suzetrigine, is the first drug to be approved in a new class of nonopioid analgesics to treat moderate to severe acute pain in adults. It reduces pain by targeting a pain-signaling pathway involving sodium channels in the peripheral nervous system before pain signals reach the brain, according to the FDA.

The maker of the drug, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., said in a statement that this marks the first time in more than 20 years the FDA has approved a new pain drug.

The efficacy of Journavx was evaluated in two randomized, double-blind, placebo- and active-controlled trials of acute surgical pain, one following abdominoplasty and the other following bunionectomy, according to a statement from the FDA. Both trials demonstrated a “statistically significant” superior reduction in pain with Journavx, the FDA said.